CINEMATIC REVELATIONS allows me the luxury of writing, editing and archiving my film and television reviews. Some reviews appeared initially in "The Commercial Dispatch" and "The Planet Weekly" and then later in the comment archives at the Internet Movie Database. IMDB.COM, however, imposes a limit on both the number of words and the number of times that an author may revise their comments. I hope that anybody who peruses these expanded reviews will find them useful.

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Monday, December 15, 2014

FILM REVIEW OF ''THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1" (2014)

As much as
“The Hunger Games” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” captivated me, I’m
less than elated that Lionsgate has split the final novel of Suzanne Collins’
bestselling trilogy into two movies. Watching “The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay, Part 1” (**1/2 OUT OF ****) is like watching half of a good movie.
Worse, Lionsgate plans to make audiences wait for another year before they fold
this franchise. Of course, the “Harry Potter” and the “Twilight”
franchises made a mint with this shrewd strategy, so it’s no surprise
Lionsgate, the same studio that released the “Twilight” epics, would not pass
up such an obvious opportunity. As fastidious and well-made as
“Mockingjay Part 1” remains, all “Catching Fire” director Francis Lawrence and
scenarists Peter Craig of “The Town” and Danny Strong of “The Butler” have done
is produce a potboiler that simmers more often than sizzles for two hours and
three minutes. Indeed, this qualifies as the shortest entry in “Hunger
Games” franchise. Comparatively, “The Hunger Games” clocked in at 142
minutes, while “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” edged it out at 146
minutes. The way they’ve made “Mockingjay Part 1,” we see more of Katniss
Everdeen and Plutarch Heavensbee than President Snow, Haymitch Abernathy, Gale
Hawthorne, Effie Trinket, Finnick Odair, Caesar Flickerman, and Johanna
Mason. Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence spends more time shedding tears
than shooting arrows. Indeed, she shoots only one arrow in this
installment. Making the most of his handful of scenes, a gleefully wicked
Donald Sutherland delivers the best line: “Miss Everdeen, it is the things we
love most that destroy us.”

“The
Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1” picks up the plot after Katniss (Jennifer
Lawrence), Beetee (Jeffrey Wright of “Casino Royale”), and Finnick Odair (Sam
Claflin of “The Quiet Ones”) have been rescued. Unfortunately, the
treacherous Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman of “Doubt”)
and the resistance have failed to liberate Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson of
“Red Dawn”), Johanna Mason (Jena Malone of “Sucker Punch”) and Annie Cresta
(Stef Dawson of “Manhaters”) in the aftermath. Meantime, Katniss and her
traumatized companions are recuperating from their tribulations in District 13,
but our heroine doesn’t know if Peeta managed to survive Panem's third Quarter
Quell. If you haven’t seen “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” you may be at a
disadvantage. Eventually, she learns that Peeta is alive, but he is being held
in the Capitol by President Snow. Plutarch and District 13 President Alma Coin
(Julianne Moore of “The Big Lebowski”) convince Katniss to serve as their
standard-bearer for the rebellion. They need her “anger-driven defiance”
desperately to shore up the sagging support among the other districts in the
wake of District 12’s annihilation. Remember, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale
Hawthorne all (Liam Hemsworth of “The Expendables 2”) grew up in District 12.

The action
alternates between above ground and below ground. The above ground scenes
where either Katniss or the rebels battle the enemy provide the most
excitement. The scenes below ground in District 13’s deeply entrenched bunkers,
where Katniss agonizes over poor Peeta’s ordeal, constitute classic,
four-handkerchief, hand-wringing, chick flick fodder. Worse, the scenes
involving the secret mission to snatch Peeta from under Snow’s nose yield only
a modicum of suspense. Nevertheless, as static as this sophomore sequel
is, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1” easily surpasses the half of the
novel that it depicts without sacrificing much source material fidelity.

Essentially,
“Mockingjay Part 1” combines elements of a war movie with a love story.
The war story sequences generate fewer thrills than the tournament sequences in
the two previous outings, while the scenes between a love-sick Katniss and a
tortured Peeta are histrionic in every negative sense of the word. Katniss
wanders around and whines, while a visibly wretched Peeta looks woebegone and
far away. These scenes are as dreary as the air-raid sequence is tedious.
The scenes of the lumberjacks scrambling up trees to avoid being
massacred by President Snow’s trigger-happy soldiers and later the assault on
the dam are sensational, but these scenes cannot compensate from the loquacious
inactivity during the subterranean sequences. The new characters that
flesh out the action are fresh, but they lack charisma, while the regulars have
been confined largely to the sidelines in cameos. Of course, each will
play a larger part in the second half.

Mind you,
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” looks terrific. The producers have
blown a bundle on every scene. The destruction of the District 5 dam is
nothing short of spectacular, with a chorus of suicidal heroes storming a gauntlet
of soldiers to detonate crates of explosives. The concrete mountains of rubble,
twisted metal, and skeletons galore in District 12 appear thoroughly
convincing, too. Philip Messina’s production designs, Larry Dias’ set
decoration, and the art direction by Andrew Max Cahn, Lauren E. Polizzi, David
Scheunemann, Steve Summersgill, and Dan Webster enhance the atmosphere and credibility
of the film. The sumptuous looking sets and slick production values,
however, don’t offset the film’s sluggish pace.

Basically,
nothing groundbreaking happens in “Mockingjay Part 1.” The best scenes
occur in the final moments, while most everything else serves as expository
filler. Indeed, you know neither Katniss nor Peeta are in jeopardy.
In other words, neither are going to die, and what happens to Peeta is the
equivalent of having a regular series character slip into a coma while the
filmmakers pause the plot to conjure up suspense. Altogether, neither
Lawrence nor his scenarists have done anything in “Mockingjay Part I” other
than delay the inevitable. The hospital bombing sequence, the air raid
scene, Katniss’ propaganda speeches to arouse the other districts as well as
singing a song are dreary. Jennifer Lawrence has a few good lines.
Unfortunately, when she isn’t decked out in her combat fatigues with a bow and
arrow in her fists, she doesn’t cut the mustard. Lawrence looks
ridiculous in her baggy uniform, and Julianne Moore actually upstages
her. Hopefully, Lionsgate is saving the best for “The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay, Part 2.”